


The Most Important People

by kenzz_95



Series: Trektober 2020 [28]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Children, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27266986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenzz_95/pseuds/kenzz_95
Summary: Leonard and Jim are fresh into a relationship, which probably isn't the most ideal time for Leonard's daughter to be staying with them for a week and a half but he has a hard time being bothered over the prospect of spending so much time with his two favorite people in the world.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Series: Trektober 2020 [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948633
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35
Collections: Trektober 2020





	The Most Important People

**Author's Note:**

> Trektober Day 29: Meeting the Family
> 
> This probably works best when read after the first part, posted yesterday. Hope you enjoy!

“I have coffee,” Jim proclaimed as he walked back into their hotel room in Atlanta, holding two coffee cups in his hands. Leonard snatched up the one that was clearly his, kissing his new boyfriend thank you in the process. Jim pulled him in closer, deepening the simple thank you kiss and sucking on his bottom lip lazily. His mouth tasted like coffee, which wasn’t nearly as unappealing as it sounded. But he couldn’t let himself get distracted. Again.

“We don’t have time for this,” he protested, forcing himself to pull away from Jim’s lips and taking a sip of his coffee just for something else to do with his mouth.

“Time for what?” Jim asked, all false innocence and fluttery blond lashes and the most gorgeous thing Leonard had ever seen in his life. “I’m just trying to kiss my soon to be ex-husband.”

“Quit callin’ me that,” Leonard rolled his eyes. Jim thought he was so funny and charming. Granted, he  _ was  _ funny and charming but he couldn’t allow his head to get too big. “And besides, we were ‘just kissing’ this morning, and I’m sure you remember how that turned out.”

“Yeah,” Jim smiled at the memory, because that morning had ended up with Jim pressing Leonard into the mattress and proving he could give it just as good as he could take it. Between him this morning and Jim last night, they’d both be walking funny all day if they weren’t careful, which they had to be because he didn’t want his ex-wife to realize that he and Jim had basically spent every moment that wasn’t they weren’t driving completely naked and doing all sorts of dirty things to each other. 

“Go get dressed, we have to pick up Jo in less than 2 hours,” Leonard requested. Jim in running shorts and one of his t-shirts was quite a sight, but not exactly the look one would go for when meeting their new boyfriend’s ex-wife and daughter for the first time.

“I think these shorts make my legs look great, actually,” Jim argued, “And it turns you on when I wear your shirts.”

“Yes, all the better reason not to do so  _ in front of my 9 year old daughter _ . Scram, darlin’.”

“Fine,” Jim sighed dramatically, pulling off Leonard’s shirt seductively and throwing it at his boyfriend with a wink. Leonard rolled his eyes and tried to pretend he didn’t think it was hot. “So, what’s the story with the fam?” Jim asked from one of the bedrooms of their suite.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean like I know you said we can’t tell them we accidentally got drunk Vegas married, but are you wanting to pretend like we’re still just friends?”

“No. I want to make sure Jo is comfortable with how things will be if she comes to stay with me for longer periods of time, and you and me...we’re the way things are now. If she ain’t comfortable with her dad having a live-in boyfriend, then I wanna know about it before she commits to any significant stay.”

“Wait, does Jo have a problem with queer people or something? Does Jocelyn? Do they even know you’re bi or is this gonna be a huge surprise to them?” Jim poked his head out to look at Leonard as he asked the question, probably under the impression that this would be a more serious conversation. It wasn’t, but Leonard appreciated the effort anyways and went to lean against the doorframe so he could actually look at Jim as they talked.

“Oh, they know, Jocelyn knew before we got married. For all the faults of our relationship, it was never because she was homophobic or anything. I can’t really take credit for this, since Jocelyn’s done most of the work with her, but Joanna’s a very open and accepting little girl. Actually maybe a little  _ too _ accepting, but she just never wants to offend anyone.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘too accepting?”

“Oh, nothin’, she just called me a month ago and told me all about this kid in her class that all of a sudden started dressing up like a different animal every day and only responding to his ‘animal name’ and apparently she told off some of the other kids for makin’ fun of him ‘cause ‘he must have a lotta stuff goin’ on, we oughta be nice’. It was sweet, but God, Jim, I would’ve laughed my ass off if I saw something like that and I’m a grownup.”

“So your daughter is a better person than you, got it,” Jim teased, “So, no alternative story then? Other than the ‘what happens in Vegas’ clause?”

“Actually, if it’s alright with you, I think we should say we’ve been together for a while. Several months at least.”   
“Okay, but why?”

“I don’t want Jocelyn to worry that we’re just honeymoon-phasing over here,” Leonard explained. He didn’t really have a lot of concerns about Jocelyn pulling Joanna back from him before she was ready, they both truly wanted what was best for her, but if he thought Jo would be staying in a house where the primary adult caregiver was just having a shitton of sex all the time then he might be concerned too.

“But Bones, we kinda  _ are _ ,” Jim pointed out as he buttoned up a patterned short sleeve dress shirt, mostly looking at Leonard in the mirror. “We haven’t even really been together for 48 hours and we’ve had sex like 5 times.”

“Yeah, and that ends  _ right the hell now _ ,” he declared, crossing his arms over his chest. Jim looked almost offended. Certainly shocked. He rolled his eyes. “Come on, Jim, you can’t really have thought that we were going to keep having so much sex while my daughter was in the next room. She’s my number one responsibility this week, we discussed this before we left and just ‘cause we’re together now doesn’t mean that changed.”

“So, what, we’re just on G rated for the next 10 days then?” Jim asked.

“We ain’t doing anything in public that could even possibly make Jo uncomfortable and we ain’t doing anything in private that she could potentially overhear. If you don’t like it, you can always head down to Savannah early.”

“It’s fine,” Jim sighed, “This week may involve a hell of a lot of cold showers, but it’s fine. I know she’s your priority, she should be, she’s your daughter and this trip is about her. I’m just happy to be along for the ride.”

“And I’m very happy to have you along,” Leonard smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his boyfriend’s lips, “Now, let’s get a move on, we wouldn’t want to keep anyone waiting.”

“Are you...nervous?” Leonard finally guessed, after half an hour of watching Jim sit in the passenger seat bouncing his leg and chewing on his lip whenever he wasn’t talking. Which actually wasn’t very often because he was unusually rambly, even for him.

“Who, me?” Jim asked in a very bad approximation of a casual tone.

“Quit that,” he leaned over and, without taking his eyes off the road, thumbed Jim’s bottom lip out from between his teeth. “If you massacre your lip so badly I can’t even kiss you without hurting you…and I won’t, by the way. If you tear your lip up so much it hurts you to be kissed then I ain’t kissin’ ya ‘till it’s better.”

“I’ll be good,” Jim promised, but then redirected that energy into bouncing his knee even faster.

“Fess up, kid, what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

“You think I’m pretty?” Jim was practically preening. Leonard rolled his eyes heavily,

“Sure ya are. Pretty annoying, too.”

“I just don’t wanna mess this up,” Jim finally admitted, “This is your daughter, she’s the most important thing in your life and I don’t want you to lose out on time with her all because she doesn’t like your new boyfriend.”

“Look, Jim, you’re pretty damn special but don’t flatter yourself into thinking you can single-handedly and completely unintentional sabotage my relationship with Joanna. If she doesn’t like you for whatever reason, she and I can stay in a hotel when she comes to San Francisco, it ain't a big deal, so quit your worrying.”

“I want her to like me, though, Bones. I want this to be easier on you, but I’m terrible with kids.”

“Jim, you’re a teacher and all your students love you, don’t start with that shit.”

“Yeah,  _ teenagers _ . I’m great with teenagers, but kids? Nine year olds? Completely out of my wheelhouse.”

“Well, luckily for you, I’m her parent, not you, and there is nothing kids her age love more than being treated like a teenager. Just treat her how you’d treat your freshmen, you can be her fun Uncle Jim and I’ll handle the actual parenting bits. And, really, Joanna ain’t a difficult kid,” Leonard assured his boyfriend, taking his hand as he drove. Jim sometimes got worried about the strangest things, but he knew that family was a bit of a sticky point for the man so he tried to be patient.

“With her parents?” Jim scoffed, clearly more relaxed already, “I don’t believe that for a second. You’re the most dramatic person I know, and from what I’ve heard Jocelyn’s just as bad.”

“‘The most dramatic person you know’, have you considered getting to know yourself?” Leonard teased, “But I’m serious, somehow against all the odds Joanna is fairly easy going. She’s a sweet girl and she likes most people. Just be yourself, I know you’d never deliberately make her uncomfortable or upset. It’ll be fine. I think she’ll like you, actually.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And I like you regardless.”

He chanced a look over at Jim as he said that, and the soft smile on his boyfriend’s face, the one he knew was only for him, made him very glad he did.

Leonard wanted to talk to Jocelyn right away about how he and Jim were together now, he didn’t want her to feel blindsided or lied to, but any plans to take his ex-wife aside for a few moments before Jim officially met Joanna were quickly ruined by the little brunette figure that started sprinting down the driveway as soon as he pulled in.

“Daddy!” Joanna yelled, flinging herself into her father’s arms the second he opened the car door. He spun her around in a circle, her suddenly long legs trailing behind him.

“Jo-Bear! How you doin’ kiddo?” Leonard put her down and looked down at his daughter, not nearly as far as he remembered, “My God, you’re growing like a weed!”

“I’ve grown 3 inches since Christmas,” she proclaimed proudly, “Mama said if I keep growing she’s gonna have to sign me up for volleyball or somethin’.”

“Or basketball, like your old man,” he smiled and ruffled her hair, which she protested weakly. Oh, how he’d missed his little girl. She was amazing, and he felt like she’d gotten all the things he liked about himself but none of the things he didn’t. The golden flecks in her brown eyes shone bright as she babbled on about the latest drama amongst her little friends in town, and he was once again struck by how utterly worth it all the hard work of getting on good terms with Jocelyn had been.

“Oh, and hey, I know you!” Jo exclaimed out of nowhere, cutting herself off from the story she was telling to look at Jim, who was leaning against the passenger side of the car casually, with just a hint of awkwardness that Leonard doubted anyone else could pick up on. “You’re my dad’s friend! Jim...I forget your last name…”

“Jim Kirk, nice to meet you,” Jim smiled easily and offered his hand to Jo, who shook it eagerly, looking delighted to be included in “something grown ups do”. 

“I like your eyes!” Jo blurted out, “They’re really pretty!”

“Uh, thanks,” Jim rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I’d love to have blue eyes! Or  _ purple _ ! I wanted to get colored contacts but my mama said no and then I asked my dad and he said no too! What’s the point of having divorced parents when neither of them give you what you want?”

“Well, I think your eyes are very pretty too, there’s no need to change them,” Jim assured her and she grinned,

“Thanks! I got my mama’s eyes, but my daddy’s eyebrows, but your eyebrows are even more intimidating than my dad’s are!”

“Joanna Alexandria McCoy,” Leonard put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, “You know better than to act like this in front of a guest. Jim’s gonna be thinkin’ all the talk of southern manners is for nothin’.”

“Sorry, daddy. And sorry Mr. Kirk. My name’s Joanna McCoy, and it’s very nice to meet you.” Joanna was really dialing up the charm, acting more like the polite little girl in braids with a strong drawl from the rural south she appeared than the energetic and rambunctious girl with a tomboy streak she was in reality.

“‘Mr. Kirk’,” Jim rolled his eyes, “I’m your dad’s best friend, call me Jim. And there’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“Are you and my dad datin’?” Jo asked, manners gone in the blink of an eye. Jim’s eyes got wide and he made eye contact with Leonard, clearly begging for advice. He was shocked by the blunt question as well, but she was his kid so he jumped in.

“What makes you ask that, Jo?”

“Well, first of all,” Jo held up one finger and was using a tone that made it sound like she’d thought about this for a while, which was just  _ wonderful _ . “Mama said that you don’t need to have a roommate, that you make enough money to live on your own but you wanna live with Jim anyways. Two, you guys seem to spend all your time together, which is what people do when they’re goin’ out. Three, you brought him here to meet me, just like mama did when she started datin’ Clay, to make sure he liked me. Four, you said if I come visit you in San Francisco I can have your bedroom and you’ll just sleep in Jim’s room with him, which is what couples do. And  _ five _ , you haven’t answered my question yet.”

Joanna punctuated her statement by putting her hands on her hips, obviously trying to look several years older than she was. Leonard was just gaping. The fact that his daughter had picked up on all those little things, ones that he and Jim hadn’t even been meaning to do because they hadn’t actually been dating until two days ago, was shocking. She’d always been an observant little girl, but  _ damn _ . She really was getting to the age where it was hard to sneak stuff past her anymore.

“Joanna,” he said finally, “It’s not very nice to ask people questions like that.”

She rolled her eyes - and okay fine he saw what Jocelyn meant when she said he had to stop doing that so much because Joanna was picking up on it - and proclaimed, “I don’t care that you have a boyfriend, dad. Mom had a boyfriend too, for a while, before they got married.”

“Yes, Jim and I are in a relationship now, but I did want to let your mother know first,” Leonard finally admitted and Joanna smiled brightly,

“Oh, I can keep a secret! I’ll pretend I don’t know! I’m super good at not tellin’ people stuff.”

“Bones, do you need a minute with Jocelyn?” Jim offered and when he nodded Jim turned towards Joanna and said, “So, I heard you can do a backflip on your trampoline. Do you wanna show me?”

That trampoline had always made Leonard nervous, even though it was in-ground  _ and _ surrounded by a net and pretty much as safe as a trampoline could get, but Joanna looked so excited at Jim’s offer that he wasn’t going to say anything. Instead, he allowed his daughter to take his boyfriend by the wrist and pull him to the backyard. He just barely got a chance to shoot a thankful look at Jim before the man disappeared around the side of the house.

“I’m surprised you’re not out there watchin’ her like a hawk,” Jocelyn observed, offering her ex-husband a glass of iced tea as they both sat down at the kitchen island, “I know how you hate that thing.”

“You see enough tib-fib fractures and you’d hate it too, I promise ya,” Leonard shook his head, taking a long sip of tea. “But I had to talk to you about something.”

“Okay?” she asked, taking a sip of her own tea, “Should I be concerned?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Len, quit stallin’. This better not be about Jo. She’s been looking forward to this trip for months.”

“It’s not. It’s just...Jim and I are in a relationship now, and I thought you deserved the courtesy of knowing.”

“Okay, and this is new then?” Jocelyn wasn’t reacting much, she simply took another sip of her tea. Leonard didn’t respond right away, so she continued, “I just don’t see why you wouldn’t have mentioned it earlier if it had  _ existed _ earlier. And don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for ya, and frankly I’ve seen it coming for a while, but you two are gonna be sharing a hotel suite with Jo for the next 10 days…”   
“Okay, Jocelyn, stop right there,” he cut her off with a shake of his head. So much for telling her that him and Jim had been together for months. “I would never  _ ever _ put Jo in any kinda uncomfortable position. You know that, and Jim knows that. We discussed it. This trip is about  _ Joanna _ , not Jim and me, so if you’re worried that he and I are gonna be fuckin’ left right and center then don’t be. We’re in a new relationship, but we’re not  _ sixteen _ . We know how to keep our hands to ourselves, especially when Jo’s around.”

“Jo will tell me if she’s uncomfortable,” Jocelyn warned.

“Please,” Leonard rolled his eyes, “Jo will tell  _ me _ if she’s uncomfortable. She’s not exactly shy. But I promise you she won’t have any reason to be. It’ll be no different than her bein’ with you and Clay all day.”

“Okay, well, thanks for tellin’ me. And I’m happy for you, Len, really.”

“Thanks. Now, if that’s all you have to say on the subject, I’m gonna go make sure our daughter doesn’t break her neck on that death trap.”

“Never change, Len, never change,” Jocelyn rolled her eyes. Ha! And she claimed Joanna only got that from him.

Leonard arrived outside just in time to see Jim attempt a front flip and land straight on his ass while Jo giggled uncontrollably at the edge of the trampoline.

“You better not make me take you to the hospital,” he called out.

“I’ll be careful, dad!” Jo shouted back.

“I wasn’t talkin’ ‘bout you, Jo-bear,” he shook his head and rolled his eyes as he headed over to the trampoline. Jo was jumping now and Jim was standing on the side, watching with interest every time she shouted “check this out!”

Jo did a backflip on the trampoline, which always made Leonard’s heart stop. 

“Ya know, Jim, if you’re tryin’ to impress my dad maybe you should try something where you don’t land on your bum.”

“Actually, I think he’d be most impressed if I just got off this thing,” Jim pointed out, but then did another flip as if to prove he didn’t really care that much. Leonard rolled his eyes.

“Okay, you two, that’s about enough of this. Jo, your mom tells me you already have a bag packed, why don’t you run inside and grab it and then we can stop for lunch on our way into the city, okay?”

Jo nodded and crawled out of the trampoline and ran back into the house.

“Cool kid,” Jim noted as he slipped out of the trampoline as well.

“Do I need to be concerned about the two of you gangin’ up on me this whole time?”

“You’re like about ten times more southern when you’re here. Did you know that?” That was very much so not an answer to his question, actually. “The only other times I’ve heard your accent come out like this have been when you were really drunk. Oh my God, I wonder how intelligible you even were during our...the Vegas event that shall not be named. Don’t worry though, Bones. I think it’s hot.”

“You’re a menace,” Leonard rolled his eyes as Jim had grabbed his ass as he spoke. Jim dropped a kiss to his cheek and grinned as he whispered,

“Yeah, well, you married me anyways.”

“It’s only a matter of time until, in the eyes of the law, that never happened.”

“Well, you love me.”

“Yeah, I do,” Leonard agreed and pressed a quick kiss to Jim’s lips before they headed back inside. Jo was waiting in the kitchen with her bag, bouncing on her heels as Jocelyn said goodbye to their daughter for the next 10 days. It could’ve probably come at a better time in his relationship with Jim, but he was going to get to spend the better part of the next 10 days - aside from Jim’s jaunt down to Savannah - with his two favorite people in the world. Leonard found he really couldn’t argue with that.


End file.
